And now on to Younis Khan.....

Assuming Inzi is able to take up his role in the lineup after his fever subsides, previous experience with Inzi tells us that he can take a little long to recover - will he be able to play a long innings without feeling the after effects of his current illness ? Chances are that YK may well play an important role in the proceedings starting Jan 13th.

Questions arise about

1. His ability to captain and lead the team: Has shown great spirit but is his tactical acumen upto par ? How will he react/use his bowlers - can he outthink batsmen and have a plan B or C if things go out of control ? Sehwag could well upset our plans ..

2. His own batting form: Not that great recently - we need a big score from him now

3. His rapport with the rest of the team: Inzi and Shoaib had developed some sort of chemistry (!!) - can YK also get the best out of Shoaib?

I think among all above, his own batting form is important for Pak - whenever he has had a lean patch, he has produced something special to bring himself back into contention. He may get away with other teams but against India, he will have only 4-6 chances - if he fails in this series, he might as well say goodbye to his aspirations of leading Pak !

..oh no!

The 'Smiler' in charge....

1. Cricketing acumen wise, Younis is better than Inzamam-ul-Haq. He actively tries to out-think the batsman, while Inzamam-ul-Haq has a tendency to lie back and wait for things to happen, unless it's the last day of a test match. ;)

2. He didn't play a long innings in the England tour, but he looked in good touch while he was there. He was middling the ball well, and played some good shots. He needs to kick on now though, like he did in the beginnging of 2005 against India.

3. This is one area where we would miss Inzamam-ul-Haq the most as a captain, assuming the nightmare scenario of him not playing does come true (khuda-na-khwasta). Younis is nowehre close to Inzamam when it comes to man management. But hopefully he won't have to captain for more than a couple of sessions or so, putting that skill to the back burner, especially since the opposition here is enough to motivate the team.

I don't think a bad series would result in him losing his vice captaincy. We don't have many choices, he's been captaining well and he showed in India that he's got it in him to play long innings and take responsibility as well.

Not another bathroom incident I hope

When did Inzi get fever?

With some players, the added responsibility of captaincy brings out the best in them. Perhaps the same for YK?

He didn't get fever. The source was really a "sauce".

Inzi did have a 103 fever yester day
but he still made it to the unveiling of the cup ceremony
which shows tht his illness has nt gotten over him

worst come worst inzi will play only as a batsman and Younis will take care of the captaincy....so things arent going as bad as some suggest

I don't think he's a great tactician but then again there are very few really great tactical captains in world cricket.

What YK brings to the table is a positivity & bravery. He may not always make the right choices but seems to always be trying & he displays a lot of energy unlike Inzi who coasts along & consistently lets opponents off the hook by falling asleep on the field.

A lot of the time though it's a captain's performance which inspires and lifts team spirit. This is where Inzi has probably been successful lately & gained a lot of respect by his peers & where YK would struggle to be consistent.

It was not evident in 5th ODI against England, specially the last over of England Innings cost us the match.

Sorry about my last comment Ayyubi . I actually agree with you having read it second time around. We are both saying the same thing.